U.S. Men's Update: End of the Line for Lokomotiv

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (May 5, 2010) – Lokomotiv Novosibirsk, the Russian Super League team of David Lee (Alpine, Calif.) and Reid Priddy (Richmond, Va.), lost its final two matches of the playoff semifinals and is done for the season.

Zenit Kazan, the Russian team that includes Lloy Ball (Fort Wayne, Ind.) and Clay Stanley (Honolulu, Hawaii), will play Lokomotiv Belogorie in the finals, which begin May 8 and will be a best-of-five match format.

In the deciding match of the best-of-five semifinals, Belogorie defeated Novosibirsk, 3-1 (21-25, 25-20, 25-19, 25-21). Priddy led Novosibirsk with 19 points on 17 kills and two blocks. His kill percentage was 0.61. Lee added seven points on four kills and three blocks. His kill percentage was 0.4.

Summer Training

The summer training block for the U.S. Men’s National Volleyball Team began May 3 at the USA National Team Center in the American Sports Centers in Anaheim, Calif.

Players on the A2 team will be preparing for the NORCECA Pan American Cup on May 22-30 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Players on the National Team will be training for the FIVB World League, which begins June 4 when the team will be in Russia for the first weekend.

The U.S. Men’s National Volleyball Team is holding two intersquad scrimmages in Southern California in May.

On May 15, the U.S. men’s A2 team will scrimmage at 5:30 p.m. and the U.S. National Team will scrimmage at 7:30 p.m. at JSerra Catholic High School, 26351 Junipero Serra Road in San Juan Capistrano.

Tickets are $10 and are available at the JSerra ticket office or via e-mail at athletics@jserra.org.

On May 21, the U.S. men’s A2 team will scrimmage at 5:30 p.m. and the U.S. National Team will scrimmage at 7:30 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid at 1250 North Bellflower Blvd., in Long Beach.

Tickets are $10 for adults, $7 for kids and seniors and LBSU students will get in free. Tickets are available at the Walter Pyramid box office or online at www.longbeachstate.com.

Spain

Unicaja Almeria, the Spanish league team of U.S. players Matt Denmark (Edmond, Okla.) and David Smith (Saugus, Calif.), lost the tournament final to CAI Voleibol Teruel.

On May 1, CAI Voleibol Teruel defeated Almeria, 25-21, 25-21, 25-22 to win the league championship.

Smith started all three sets and scored four points on four kills. Denmark started the first two sets and scored two points on one kill and one block.

Portugal

Benfica, the Portuguese league team that includes Alfee Reft (Oxnard, Calif.) and Robert Tarr (Cape Canaveral, Fla.), is tied in its best-of-five playoff series against Sporting Espinho and will play the deciding match on May 8.

On April 11 and April 17, Benfica took 3-2 victories. However, on April 25, Espinho came back to win 3-0. On May 2, it tied the series with a 3-1 victory.

Ball’s E-Book Now Available

Lloy Ball’s biography, The Biggest Mistake I Never Made, is now available for download.

The book details the life and career of Ball, a four-time Olympian, including his experience in Beijing when the U.S. Men won the gold medal at the Olympic Games.

The NET Live is an Internet radio show hosted by former U.S. Men’s Team player and two-time Olympian Kevin Barnett along with current team member, two-time Olympian and 2008 gold medalist Reid Priddy.

The show is usually broadcast at 10 a.m. PT on Mondays and features interviews with a variety of volleyball personalities along with banter by the two hosts and sidekick/engineer Dan “Kinda Good” Madden.